Airborne Law Enforcement: Fighting the Good Fight

Seeking out the bad guys with today’s innovations makes this year’s Airborne Law Enforcement Association a must-attend meeting.

FINDING WAYS TO KEEP AIRBORNE law enforcement capabilities a step or two ahead of the bad guys that are cost-efficient, politically palatable, and truly effective in the field is a constant challenge.

Many an agency air unit makes due with equipment that’s a bit too old or slight short of its particular operational needs (or more than slightly short). Such units become effective through the ability of their officers and staff to adapt their specific tactics and procedures to overcome the shortcomings of their gear.

These are key reasons why the Airborne Law Enforcement’s annual gathering, being held July 11-14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., is such an important event. Not only does it provide a rich opportunity for police air unit members to exchange information and knowledge about effective tactics and procedures through formal and informal sessions. It allows them to learn about initiatives to upgrade their gear, such as the ALEA’s effort to win U.S. federal grant funding to replace old, surplus military aircraft with newer types built and fitted specifically for commercial markets and to upgrade their tactical airborne equipment as well.

It also gives those members a chance to catch up on the latest offerings of airborne law enforcement vendors, as well as the chance to buttonhole vendors whose equipment may have fallen short of the manufacturer’s promises and the operators expectations.

To help you manage your time ALEA, or follow up with vendors if you’re not attending, we’ve collected a sample of what will be at the show.

Broadcast Microwave Services, Inc. (Booth 712, www.bms-inc.com) will be discussing the latest developments and applications of its line of air-to-ground, microwave downlink equipment. BMS analog and digital airborne transmit systems complement its newly released, high-definition product line. Transmit systems integrated into the aircraft communicate with units on the ground using portable, handheld receivers (for short range work) or ones mounted on tripods or fixed to a tower or building (for medium- to long-range distances). The company also offers diversity receivers for more sophisticated applications.

BLR Aerospace (Booth 519, www.BLRaerospace.co) plans to exhibit its patented technologies for improving the safety and operational characteristics of civilian and military rotorcraft. BLR holds more than 60 supplemental type certificates (STCs) for helicopter, business aviation, and general aviation aircraft performance modifications.

Breeze-Eastern Corp. (www.Breeze-Eastern.com) is promoting its 450-lb and 600-lb hoists for use by police helicopters in public-use and FAA-approved operations.

Known for its advanced avionics technology, Chelton Flight Systems (Booth 222, www.cheltonflightsystems.com) electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) will be sharing the latest details on its products and product improvements. These include an new utility to allow pilots to enter obstacle and hazards directly into the database for its synthetic-vision and terrain awareness and warning systems and programs to install its EFIS on versions of the Bell Helicopter 206 and 407.

EDMO Distributors, Inc. (Booth 1406, www.edmo.com) plans to showcase a wide variety of airborne law enforcement tactical products, focusing on tactical audio and radio systems from Northern Airborne Technology. EDMO is highlighting NAT’s new Digital Audio Control System, which is designed to offer many advantages over typical analog audio systems.

Flightcell International (Booth 822, www.flightcell.com) will be detailing its DZM Iridium voice tracking and data system. It is designed to deliver user-configurable, two-way voice and data communications via Iridium satellite or cellular phone, as well as "smart" flight tracking, anywhere in the world. For law enforcement helicopters covering remote areas beyond land mobile radio range, Flightcell DZM aims to provide a reliable communications pipeline, plus a way for dispatch to stay on top of their airborne units’ locations. Flightcell DZM says it has integrated global satellite phone, tactical radio, and cell phone communications plus GPS asset-tracking capability into a very compact and lightweight hub that can be installed in any aircraft, and easily removed for use elsewhere.

A respected provider of aviation training for both military and civilian aviators, FlightSafety International (Booth 212, www.flightsafety.com) is talking about agencies’ demands for mission-specific helicopter training and its efforts to satisfy those demands. The company is developing training scenarios to meet the differing needs of pilots and crew, as well as the unique challenges law enforcement agencies face daily in normal and during emergency-response situations. Training scenarios require pilots and crews to practice decision-making skills, a technique that reinforces flight principles and drives home the importance of ‘soft skills’ such as communication, teamwork, situational awareness and making safe decisions. Scenarios incorporate additional factors such as weather and night flight.

Frasca International Inc. (Booth 1214, www.frasca.com) is bringing its deployable MentorH flight training device (FTD). The MentorH is designed to help train pilots to fly single-engine turbines such as the Bell 206 or 407. According to Vice President John Frasca, the portable MentorH "allows for training in multiple locations with a transportable unit." For cash-strapped police departments, this can be a real plus.

Guardian Mobility Corp. (Booth 1130, www.guardianmobility.com) is spotlighting its Guardian Skytrax 3X. The company calls Skytrax 3X "a revolutionary GPS tracking system for aircraft owners, fleet operators and agencies who require a cost-effective way to track their aircraft." Skytrax 3X is integrated with both a satellite transmitter and GPS receiver in one unit, including all required antennas. With it, the company aims to help operators improve efficiency, situational awareness, and safety by monitoring aircraft movement in near real time.

Meeker Aviation Special Ops Equipment (Booth 913, www.meekeraviation.com) will be displaying its various mounts, isolation systems and new quick disconnect device. That device is a variation of Meeker’s popular Dovetail 2, which is designed for vertical sensor installs, specifically fixed-wing and UAV applications.

The centerpiece of the display at Microwave Radio Communications (Booth 126, www.mrcsecurity.com) is the company’s Tactical Receiver Case, a suitcase-sized digital receiver and picture monitor designed to give a ground crew a clear, bird’s eye view of the action. Based on digital technology, the company says, the device eliminates the distortion and signal loss found with conventional analog systems by using coded, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (COFDM) to transmit a compressed video signal over thousands of different carriers. It should allow departments to extend the range of digital downlinks from omni antennas on aircraft without the increased cost and complexity of GPS tracking antenna systems.

MRC is also showing its QuikVue HS handheld digital video receiver. The company claims this device is the smallest handheld COFDM/MPEG receiver/decoder in the industry. It features a high-resolution, 6.4-in LCD color video screen for active monitoring from a portable transmitter, making it ideal for situations where portability is a key factor, such as reconnaissance and crowd control. Weighing in at 6.8 lb (3.08 kg), and consuming less than 30 w, it can be concealed easily for covert operations and will interface with standard digital or analog monitors and recorders for enhanced operator flexibility.

Shadin Avionics (Booth 813, www.shadin.com) is showing its ETM Engine Trend Monitor, designed to provide comprehensive, real-time aircraft performance monitoring, fuel management and navigation data in one small, easy-to-install, affordable package. Using the ETM, pilots get in-cockpit real-time access to information on fuel remaining, projected fuel needed to waypoint, specific range and flight timer, current position, destination, distance and bearing, heading and estimated ETA. The ETM also automatically records maintenance data for later retrieval with its unique removable Datakey, making maintenance less expensive.

SRT Helicopters (Booth 528, www.srthelo.com) has a number of products aimed at police helicopter units. These include what it says is real-world operational training (initial and ongoing) for pilots and flight crews, technical rescue training that covers hoist rescue and short haul operations, crew resource management and human factors training, airborne use of force, and tactical officer flight training.

SRT Survival Systems USA Inc. (Booth 620, www.survivalsystemsinc.com) also aims to provide police air crews with realistic training through the use of its Modular Egress Training System. According to Survival Systems, this trainer is a configurable aircraft disorientation and full-immersion ditching training system. It is built into a realistic helicopter cabin, complete with aircraft specific emergency exits and exit mechanisms, movable interchangeable exterior panels, bulkheads and seats, simulated smoke and fire generation, and emergency equipment including life-raft capsules and a rescue hoist.

Turbomeca USA (Booth 502, www.turbomeca-usa.com) will be discussing its ongoing efforts to boost customer support and improve the performance and operating costs of its engines. A plan for producing demonstrator products (prototypes) has been initiated to accelerate the maturing process for the technologies that will be used by Turbomeca for new engines in the 500-3,000 shp range.